1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for improving the traction of sport shoes used on court surfaces and, more particularly, to an anti-slip shoe accessory for court sports such as basketball, volleyball, racquetball and the like which is worn on the shoes.
2. Description of the Background
It is well known that athletes require good footing and traction between their footwear and the playing surface to avoid injury and to perform at the highest level. Athletic shoes are designed to provide high traction between the sole of the shoe and the playing surface. Where the sole becomes dirty during play, its ability to provide traction to the player may be compromised.
For example, when playing basketball on a dusty court, a player might realize partway through a game that the dust is affecting traction. Even on clean surfaces, bad traction can lead to injury.
Traction may be restored by cleaning the sole of the shoe. This may seem like a simple affair. There are commercially available mats for shoes called Stick'Ums™. These may be placed on the basketball court sideline and players can step on them before or during the game. These mats have a top layer of adhesive-coated film that effectively removes dirt from shoes. The players simply step on the mat to remove dust. Alternatively, there are a variety of alcohol-based traction solutions available from sporting goods stores. These can be used to wet a towel which is placed on the sidelines so that players can wipe the bottom of their shoes. Though both of the foregoing can be accomplished in just moments, they require the player to return to court-side, forcing players to wait until short breaks in play. This is no solution to the problem during live play. Consequently, even professional basketball players are often seen licking their fingers while on the court and wiping the bottom of each shoe with their fingers. For obvious reasons physicians advise against this.
What is needed is a cleaning pad that can be secured to the shoe to provide a readily accessible cleaning element without the need to visit the sideline.
There have been a few past efforts toward this end.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,426 to Bragga issued Apr. 25, 1989 discloses a Velcro™-attached shoe pad for dislodging, picking up and retaining foreign particles and other matter adhered on athletic footwear soles. The cloth pad relies on mechanical brushing to clean.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,106 to Emrick issued Jun. 6, 1995 discloses a removable shoestring cover for athletic shoes which provides an upwardly facing wiping surface of suede or other material, and which cover is attached to the shoestrings at the upper and lower edge of the cover by flaps which fold around portions of the shoestrings and are held by a hook and loop type fastener.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,768 to Pryor issued Dec. 5, 1995 discloses a sneaker with a built in atomizer for improved traction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,564 to Welch discloses a shoe sole wiping pad sewn to the outer surface of an athletic sock. The wiping pad has a moisture-bearing wiping surface that removes dust and debris from the sole of an athletic shoe. The wiping pad cannot be removed from the sock for moisture replenishment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,801 to Adzick et al. issued Oct. 10, 2000 discloses a shoe sole cleaner that removes debris from a sole of a user's shoe by swiping the sole over the shoe sole cleaner on the user's opposing shoe. A two-part mechanical fastener (e.g., hook-and-loop) secures the shoe sole cleaner to a shoe by its shoe laces. Again, the cloth pad relies on mechanical brushing to clean.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/106,410 by Naughton filed Apr. 21, 2008 discloses a wearable wipe unit essentially comprising a Velcro™ attached towel.
Although the foregoing references are attached to the shoe or sock and can be used during game play, they primarily rely on mechanical brushing and are not very effective. A cleaning fluid is the most effective traction enhancer. However, simply impregnating a cleaning pad and attaching to a sneaker results in a relatively heavy device when worn, impedes quickness. Moreover, any wetted or impregnated pad will tend to leave a residue on the soles, temporarily reducing traction. Even worse, the fluids can leach, spray or splatter during the game, resulting in wet shoes and socks. Even worse, the devices can leave moisture on the court and create substantial safety issues. What is needed is a light-weight low-profile cleaning pad assembly that can be removably secured to the shoe, designed to entrap a semisolid gel cleaner which avoids leaching, spraying or splattering of the gel.